Grayson - A Robin Origin Story From Dick's POV
by MrJeanpaul22
Summary: My little origin story for the Boy Wonder! I'm planning on having it tie-in with 'Dark Victory', but alter his involvement, and add a showdown with Tony Zucco. Any reviews and critiques would be lovely.


'GRAYSON'

Part 1: Take These Wings

First off, let's get one thing out of the way. Tony Zucco is a fucking dead man.

We are treated to a door leading into a rather defunct looking apartment building, a street light illuminating it. It's the dead of night, and the moon is full, and there is not a cloud in the sky. A young boy's shadow crosses into the light, and we see 11-year-old Dick Grayson standing in front of the door. He's slender, he's wearing blue jeans and a black jacket, and he's holding a bag on his back quite a bit of weight on his shoulders.

We see Dick holds a piece of paper in his left hand. He looks up and checks the address for the millionth time. _This is it, Dick, _he thinks. _Your future waits._ He takes a calming breath, closes his eyes, opens them, and knocks on the door. There is silence for a while. After the silence, Dick tries the knob, and it's open. He pushes the door open, and the room beyond is pitch dark. Dick swears and swings his backpack over to him, where he fishes out a flashlight. He flips on the light, and moves it around the room. At the far end of the room are mailboxes, rusted and old. To his right is a potted plant in a corner and paintings on the wall. To his left, there is a door leading to the stairs. Dick crosses to the door and pushes it open. He scans the room, and he notices the dirty, rusted stairwell. He points the light up toward the ceiling and sees it extends for a while. _At least five stories up._ He stares at the piece of paper again. _Midnight. 1332 W Walker St. Room 503. Alone. _Dick begins his ascent into darkness. He walks a brisk pace, ignoring any room that wasn't what he wanted. He sees nothing other than the little cone of light he holds. _301. 302. 303. _Dick slips up the stairs, winding up and up until finally; he makes it to the fifth floor.

Now, very slowly, he tiptoes along the hall. _501._ He breathes in and holds it. _502._ He is aware, for the first time tonight, of his heart beating like crazy. He shines his light where room 503 should be… and he lets out a weak smile. Where the metal 503 sign should be, there's a metal bat. _This is the place._ Dick steps up to the door and… stops.

"Umm… Hello?" Nothing. Dick then proceeds to knock on the door. Again, he tries the doorknob, but this time it's locked. "Hey, uh… Hello? I'm here. It's… it's me." More silence. Dick steps back into the hallway, and shakes his head. He goes back to the door and knocks louder. He's growing impatient. "Hey! Open up! It's the kid, remember?" There is not a word until the door slowly swings open. Dick takes in a huge breath and holds it. His mind is blank, and he doesn't think. "Uh…" Then, the ugliest growl young Dick had ever heard grows from the room. It is loud, and mean, and it's coming from right in front of him.

"Well, little bird?" Dick takes even more air in and holds that. "Are you going to fly?"

_Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. _Every little voice screams for him to back away, to run away, to run back… _Where will you go? Home? You have no more home, Dick! _Every voice but one is telling him to leave, but every base instinct tells him to walk forward, to plunge himself into the darkness. He takes a tentative step into the dark room, shining his light around, and then he takes another step, and another, and his flashlight dies. _Oh no. _Dick freezes. He stops cold in his tracks, and although he can't see it, he can feel the color drain from his face. _Shit. Stupid Dick, not checking the damn flashlight for batteries… _

BOOM! A floodlight pops to life. For a few seconds, Dick is blinded. He stumbles, loses his footing, and he falls to the floor. He rubs the daze out of his eyes, and he looks at the room. Sitting before him, is the single coolest thing he's probably ever seen. It is cased in glass, it's shining under the bright flood of light coming from somewhere behind him. He stands, slowly, he gazes into the case, and he notices that at his eye level is a mask. A little black domino mask, something like the Lone Ranger would have worn. He remembers the old stories his father used to tell him, of a hero from the old west who would spread justice…

"Whoa." Dick realizes something. It is laid out before him, his future, his quest, his means of achieving all of that he wanted. "That's mine, right?" The growling comes again, from the shadows.

"What will you do with it?" Dick thinks about this for a while before he lets the truth crawl from his mouth. It was very simple, crystal clear. All he wanted was vengeance. Cold, murderous, bloody vengeance

"I'm gonna kill Tony Zucco."

A silence falls on the room after Dick spoke. He holds his breath, and he waits, listening for a response. Just beyond his vision, he knows, the Bat is sitting, watching him.

"You can try to kill the man who took your parents." The growl is noticeably softer. "You can try to right the horrible wrong he did to you and your family. I've seen what you can do, little bird. You can fight better than most men twice your age. You are capable of doing a lot toward killing the man who took everything. You will get far, but you will not succeed without my help." Dick's eyes drop to the floor. He has an idea as to what's coming next. "You will not receive any help from me until you understand why we fight, and what we fight for." It was hard for Dick to decide where the voice was coming from. "Do you understand me, little bird?"

No. He doesn't. He doesn't want to. He can't. He doesn't want to believe that this symbol for hope won't help him avenge his parents' death. But… maybe that was right. Dick Grayson has never been so torn. He wants Zucco to pay, to bleed and die, like his parents did, like how he murdered them. And yet, he knows the Bat has a point. He could probably bash some skulls of Zucco's men, but how would he find his goons, let alone Zucco himself? If… If he could get to Zucco, put him away, then he wouldn't hurt anyone… But Dick Grayson can't stop picturing Tony Zucco's bloody and limp body.

So, not without some reluctance, Dick Grayson gets up on his own two feet and stares into the darkness. He whispers, "Yes. I understand you." The shadows move, and a man cloaked in black with tall pointy ears steps out into the light. The harshness is back, and he growls, "Then you shall be the Robin. I will be your guide into our world. I will bring you to shed your broken wings, and you will protect the innocent, the innocence of those who live in fear. Take these new tools, and let me train you, so you may taste justice, and serve it upon those who deserve it."

Dick Grayson stands, and as he stares at the Bat, the Bat moves over to the case. He opens it, and he hands Dick the mask. He holds it to his face, and puts it over his eyes. He takes the costume from him, and he stares at the 'R' emblazoned on the chest. The question slips from his mouth before he can stop it.

"How did you know?"

"The wrist band she wore the night she died. It had robins on it. You took it. I knew it must have meant something." The Bat Man strolls over to the window and stares out into the city. "You can't fly yet, Robin," He turns to Dick, and lets out a hint of an idea of a smile. "But I can teach you."


End file.
